1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a programmable semiconductor device comprising a supporting member having a semiconductor circuit element and an electric conductor which belongs to a first line and which can be electrically conductively connected to the semiconductor circuit element.
In addition the invention relates to a method of manufacturing such a semiconductor device.
A programmable semiconductor device of the above-mentioned kind may form part for example, of a programmable read-only memory (PROM). Besides for a programmable read-only memory the programmable semiconductor device may also be used, for example, for a logic circuit of the type PLA (programmable logic array) in which the actual logic function of the circuit is fixed afterwards by means of a programming step.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A programmable semiconductor device of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,977. In the device shown a thin layer of insulating material is present between an electric conductor and a semiconductor circuit element (diode). A connection between the conductor and the diode is obtained by applying a potential difference between the conductor and a zone of the diode such that material of the conductor penetrates into the insulating material and thus forms a connection. In order to reach this effect a rather high voltage is necessary. The required voltage becomes lower if the thickness of the thin layer of insulating material is reduced but this increases on the other hand the possibility of undesired initial connections between conductor and diode as a result of possible defects in the insulating material.